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This morning Bruce Bartlett, the former pioneer of supply-side economics turned latter-day Keynesian, said on CNN's American Morning, "Rick Perry's an idiot, and I don't think anyone would disagree with that. To the extent that he has people thinking that the Fed doing its normal job is somehow or other a treasonous act is grossly irresponsible."

Bartlett is highly opinionated, of course, but that Perry would draw such an extreme response from him ("I don't think anyone would disagree with that") speaks volumes about the unique recklessness with which the Texas governor has charged out of the gate since he announced his presidential candidacy less than a week ago. Bartlett was referring of course to Perry's remark about Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, that "if this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don't know what you all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. I mean, printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous, er, er, treasonous, in my opinion." Combining a chuckling reference to treating people ugly in Texas with mention of treason, a capital offense, adds up to joshing about lynching. Perry has not substantially walked back from that remark. And among other unconsidered statements in the last few days, Perry also dismissed climate change science by saying "there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects."

There has been some speculation that the Obama campaign is overjoyed at Perry's entrance into the race, as it introduces a candidate potentially much easier to beat than Mitt Romney while also potentially forcing Romney to shift farther to the right in self defense, thus forcing Romney away from appealing to the great independent middle on whom the election will probably ultimately hinge.

When has a candidate appeared and so instantly shown such a lack of the stuff of a true leader? Maybe not since Newt Gingrich.

Meanwhile in other Bruce Bartlett-on-idiocy news today, the columnist writes in The Fiscal Times, "Given our budgetary situation, it is irresponsible to keep higher revenues completely off the table, as Republicans insist. And their dogmatic belief that low taxes on the rich are the key to growth is transparent nonsense." That nonsense aside, he adds that "it’s reasonable for the modestly well to do to fear being treated like millionaires when there is talk of raising taxes on the rich. Higher tax rates on the rich should apply only to those who really are rich."